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I have a different view of walk ups. I certainly agree that they are a paperwork nightmare. But birds are typically ordered months in advance & the club is obligated to buy them way before entries close. Clubs use the birds they have (typically no shot flyers). These birds get thrown more than anticipated which affects quality. Other than started which should get the best birds, this really shouldn't bother a well trained dog. The walk ups certainly cause bird & paperwork issues.

Now on to the positive. Fixed expenses already being set, I look at walk up entries as profit. The extra entries can cause a club to break even or push on over into the black. There are many working men & women that cannot plan their work schedule weeks in advance. If they find themselves free one weekend & want to run a test then they can.

Started handlers especially have no idea what they are getting into. Many sign up Saturday only, then run Sunday if they pass. These people are the future of the sport & I want to remove any obstacles that prevent them from playing the game.

My viewpoint is different than most but I love the weekend HRC tests as they currently exist & do not want anything changed.

While a pretty small sample, the results from the recent seasoned test my son ran: There were 7 walkup entries, two scratches or a net increase of five entries. This was on Sunday. On Sat it looked like the seasoned event was almost full before it closed, maybe 2-3 openings. I don't know if there were any walkups.

I thought this worked out pretty good, IMHO.

But looking ahead, Lone Star HRC has a test on 3/15 and there are only about 8 entries altogether for the three events. And zero for seasoned. My son will probably be one of the walkups. With two teenagers at home and all their activities it is hard for him to plan in advance. I don't think a closing date would cause him to do anything differently.

Hey Wayne. If you attend Lone Star's test in Bonham, come by finished and say hi to me. I'm judging both days.

I believe the test starts on the 23rd.

Derrick

"Force fetch isn't about retrieving as much as it is conditioning a dog to handle pressure, in a very controlled environment. It's about putting a dog in the position of having to figure out how to turn off pressure by finding the correct response. This translates into numerous areas in training." Sharon Potter.

Gave away a winger this year, a crate the year before, a shot-gun next year, drawing is only available to those who sign up on-line or prior to on-line closing, a bunch of long faces on those who couldn't get in to the drawing, A bunch of Happy people who had a very good shot at a great prize for no extra $$$. Next time maybe they'll sign-up online.

Of course I'm always the one who shows up at an HRC or NAHRA test in the middle of no-where, with no intention of running my dogs, and gets conned into it every time

Last edited by Hunt'EmUp; 03-07-2013 at 03:06 PM.

"They's Just DAWGS"
"Hunting is a skill to be learned whether you do it early or late it still needs to be learned"
"I train dogs, Not papers"

Gave away a winger this year, a crate the year before, a shot-gun next year, drawing is only available to those who sign up on-line or prior to on-line closing, a bunch of long faces on those who couldn't get in to the drawing, A bunch of Happy people who had a very good shot at a great prize for no extra $$$. Next time maybe they'll sign-up online.

Of course I'm always the one who shows up at an HRC or NAHRA test in the middle of no-where, with no intention of running my dogs, and gets conned into it every time

Thats not a bad idea, along with Marsh and Meadows retriever HRC club I'm also very involved Central MN Retriever club both FT and HT and there is no way we could operate as efficiently as we do if we had to deal with walk ups the day of the test or trial. And the notion that we get more entries because of it I don't buy it even at the started level, if people are planning on running there either going to or there not a cut of date only forces them make that decision sooner. Look at the Junior numbers at any AKC test there almost always full, a cut off date doesn't seem to hinder them. I know this most likely never change, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't agree with or think it is helping the club.

I am all for cut off. I hate morning walk ups, I have to do the extra work on top of everything else. You are right, in AKC you have cut off, eveyone runs if they want, if HRC had a cut it would be the same. Of course this time,our hunt next if full in fin and full in season. NEVER have we every filled in season prior to cut off date. As someone mentioned before, look at last year. We did and we did expect around 25 season dogs since we had so many started, but never did we consider this many. We had to call and order more birds . We charge add'l 5.00 walk up fee, but next year I am changing to at least 10.00

I have a different view of walk ups. I certainly agree that they are a paperwork nightmare. But birds are typically ordered months in advance & the club is obligated to buy them way before entries close. Clubs use the birds they have (typically no shot flyers). These birds get thrown more than anticipated which affects quality. Other than started which should get the best birds, this really shouldn't bother a well trained dog. The walk ups certainly cause bird & paperwork issues.

Now on to the positive. Fixed expenses already being set, I look at walk up entries as profit. The extra entries can cause a club to break even or push on over into the black. There are many working men & women that cannot plan their work schedule weeks in advance. If they find themselves free one weekend & want to run a test then they can.

Started handlers especially have no idea what they are getting into. Many sign up Saturday only, then run Sunday if they pass. These people are the future of the sport & I want to remove any obstacles that prevent them from playing the game.

My viewpoint is different than most but I love the weekend HRC tests as they currently exist & do not want anything changed.

I don't think your viewpoint is too far off the mark, at least not from mine anyway. I may be in the minority but as a hunt secretary I really don't mind the walk ups. We plan for a full test ... and almost always have one. And very little gets wasted. Extra ducks can be sold or saved for training days. Extra food can be frozen and used for training day lunches.

The paperwork doesn't have to be that bad if you're organized and ready for it. I have an assistant help with check in. She checks in all the pre-registered folks so that they get their numbers and get on where they need to be. I handle changes/last minute entries. I have my laptop right there, just print additions to the marshal sheets and point slip labels.

I like to be accomodating to our guests and make them feel welcome. It's all about customer service, people aren't going to spend their money if they're not having fun. Give them a smooth running, enjoyable test that they want to come back to year after year. Besides, most of my handlers operate on just as tight a budget as I do ... 5 of the 6 tests closest to me are all scheduled in a 4 week period. Four tests back to back is tough on the pocketbook. I've either got to wait until pay day or hit the credit card.

Originally Posted by Hunt'EmUp

Gave away a winger this year, a crate the year before, a shot-gun next year, drawing is only available to those who sign up on-line or prior to on-line closing, a bunch of long faces on those who couldn't get in to the drawing, A bunch of Happy people who had a very good shot at a great prize for no extra $$$. Next time maybe they'll sign-up online.

Of course I'm always the one who shows up at an HRC or NAHRA test in the middle of no-where, with no intention of running my dogs, and gets conned into it every time

I like that idea ... sort of a special 'thank you' to the folks that were considerate enough to sign up early.

I don't think your viewpoint is too far off the mark, at least not from mine anyway. I may be in the minority but as a hunt secretary I really don't mind the walk ups. We plan for a full test ... and almost always have one. And very little gets wasted. Extra ducks can be sold or saved for training days. Extra food can be frozen and used for training day lunches.

The paperwork doesn't have to be that bad if you're organized and ready for it. I have an assistant help with check in. She checks in all the pre-registered folks so that they get their numbers and get on where they need to be. I handle changes/last minute entries. I have my laptop right there, just print additions to the marshal sheets and point slip labels.

I like to be accomodating to our guests and make them feel welcome. It's all about customer service, people aren't going to spend their money if they're not having fun. Give them a smooth running, enjoyable test that they want to come back to year after year. Besides, most of my handlers operate on just as tight a budget as I do ... 5 of the 6 tests closest to me are all scheduled in a 4 week period. Four tests back to back is tough on the pocketbook. I've either got to wait until pay day or hit the credit card.

I like that idea ... sort of a special 'thank you' to the folks that were considerate enough to sign up early.

if you are walking up at our test on saturday fine, just don't plan on seeing the test dog or attending the handler's meeting but you are welcome to come and we are glad to have you. expect to be patient because as the old cliche' says....."bad planning on your part does not necessarily constitute and emergency on my part!"

i will not have my lap top and i will be doing points receipts and running orders manually......old school style! just like all you maxxed out credit card, broke, i aint got a computer, can't make my mind up if i am going or not, losers who didn't sign up on hunttestsec.com! how is that for an incentive for next year? just kidding see yall saturday at 7 am.